Craft beverage producers
Books and taxes for coffee roasters.
Green coffee that loses weight in the roaster, wholesale cafe accounts paying on net-30 terms, a subscription box shipping every month, and a private label job for someone else's brand. Gus sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.
- From $197 a month
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever
March came in at $15,100. Wholesale cafe accounts paid on time this month, and I kept your private label roasting fee separate from your own bag sales so you can see what each side is really worth.
- Wholesale account paymentWholesale cafe accounts
- Recharge subscription payoutSubscription and direct sales
- Royal Coffee green orderGreen coffee
- ePac Flexibles bagsPackaging and bags
- Probat roaster serviceRoasting equipment
Why your books are different
A coffee roaster's books go wrong around the roast and the invoice.
A generalist sees bags of coffee and a cafe account. Your business is green coffee that shrinks in weight the moment it hits the roaster, wholesale accounts that pay you thirty days late, and a private label job that is not really your own brand's revenue. When the books do not separate all that, cost per bag is a guess.
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1
Roast shrinkage gets ignored
Green coffee loses a real share of its weight to moisture during roasting, so a pound of green beans never becomes a pound of roasted coffee. Priced off the green weight instead of the roasted yield, every bag quietly loses margin.
What we doTracks roast yield against green weight purchased, so cost per roasted pound reflects what actually comes out of the roaster. -
2
Green coffee lots get averaged instead of tracked
A washed Ethiopian lot and a natural-process Brazilian lot rarely cost the same, and commodity prices move constantly. One blended coffee cost line hides which origin is actually profitable at your current pricing.
What we doTracks what each lot of green coffee actually cost, so pricing by origin is based on real numbers, not an average. -
3
Wholesale invoices sit unpaid and untracked
A cafe account on net-30 terms owes you real money the day the coffee ships, not the day the check arrives. Without tracking what is owed, it is easy to lose track of who has actually paid.
What we doKeeps wholesale invoices and payments matched up, so you always know what a cafe account has paid and what is still outstanding. -
4
Private label roasting gets mixed with your own brand
Roasting under another brand's label pays a fee for the job, but it is not the same as a sale of your own coffee. Blended together, you cannot tell how much of your revenue is really your own brand's growth.
What we doKeeps private label and co-roasting fees in their own line, separate from sales under your own brand. -
5
Subscription shipments blend into one-time sales
A recurring subscription bag and a one-time bag bought at a farmers market are very different kinds of revenue, one predictable, one seasonal. Lumped together, you cannot tell which one is actually growing.
What we doKeeps subscription revenue separate from one-time retail and wholesale sales, so your recurring base is visible on its own.
Your categories
The categories Gus keeps for a coffee roaster.
Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.
Money in
- Wholesale cafe accountsNet-30 invoices to cafes and grocery accounts, tracked as they are paid.
- Subscription and direct salesRecurring bag shipments through Recharge or a similar service.
- Retail bag salesFarmers market, taproom, or in-person bag sales.
- Private label and co-roasting feesRoasting jobs done under another brand's label.
Money out
- Green coffeeLots purchased from importers like Royal Coffee or Café Imports.
- Packaging and bagsValve bags and labels from suppliers like ePac Flexibles.
- Roasting equipmentRoasters, cooling trays, and maintenance from brands like Probat or Diedrich.
- Freight and import costsShipping and customs costs to get green coffee to your roastery.
- Cupping and lab suppliesCupping bowls, grinders, and quality control tools.
- Staff wagesRoasters, packers, and cafe or cupping room staff, kept apart.
- Insurance and permitsProduct liability and food handling permits.
What we watch for you
- Roast yield
How much roasted coffee comes out per pound of green coffee, so cost per bag reflects real shrinkage.
- Wholesale receivables
What cafe accounts owe you on net-30 terms, so a late payment gets caught early.
- Subscription versus one-time sales
Your recurring bag revenue against seasonal and market sales, so you know which one is actually growing.
- The set-aside
What you will owe, tracked every month, so April is a number you already knew.
Ask Gus
Things coffee roaster owners ask Gus.
Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.
That is normal roast shrinkage, and it can shift a little by origin and roast level. I track your actual yield, so your cost per bag reflects what really came out of the roaster.
No. Coffee roasting is not an alcohol product, so federal alcohol excise tax never applies to your business.
I am keeping an eye on what each account owes and for how long. This one is a bit slow but not yet unusual, worth a friendly reminder before it becomes a real accountant conversation.
The tax side
The tax side of running a coffee roasting business.
Most of what goes wrong here is cost tracking, since green coffee shrinks in the roaster and lots vary in price. Getting that right matters more than most people expect at tax time.
What your return has to get right
Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.
- Green coffee and roast yield as inventoryGreen coffee only reduces taxable income when the roasted product is actually sold, and an accurate count of green coffee, work in process, and finished bags matters at year end.
- Roasters and packaging equipmentA roaster, cooling tray, or packaging line can usually be written off the year you buy it. Section 179 expensing goes up to $2,560,000, and bonus depreciation is 100 percent for property placed in service after January 19, 2025.
- Contractor 1099sA farmers market helper, a delivery driver, or a marketing contractor paid $2,000 or more in 2026 and not on payroll gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus keeps that list all year.
- The pass-through deductionMost owner-operated coffee roasters can take up to 20 percent of business profit off taxable income. It comes out right when wholesale, subscription, and private label revenue are kept separate all year.
Deductions coffee roasters miss
Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.
- Green coffee
- Freight and import costs
- Bags, labels, and valves
- Roaster maintenance and parts
- Cupping and lab supplies
- Farmers market booth fees
- Delivery vehicle fuel
- Subscription billing software fees
- Product liability insurance
- Staff uniforms with your logo
- Cafe or cupping room furniture
- Water filtration for brewing samples
General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.
All year, not just April
A coffee roaster's year, kept every month.
Green coffee arrivals and wholesale demand do not follow a neat calendar, but your return still comes due every April. Your team keeps you ahead of it. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.
- January
Plan the year
Last year's return gets started, wholesale receivables get reviewed, and you get a monthly set-aside so April is already handled.
- April
Filed. Done.
Your return is filed and signed. No surprise bill, because the set-aside has been running since January no matter how green coffee prices moved.
- July
Halfway check
Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether new wholesale accounts or subscription growth changed the number.
- October
Before the holiday push
Before holiday gift set orders pick up, Gus looks at equipment worth buying and anything to do before December.
What you get
What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.
Book a call- Monthly bookkeeping
Every transaction sorted into categories set up for coffee roasters. You never categorize a thing.
- An accountant checks every transaction
Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.
- Your business tax return, filed
Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.
- The monthly number
What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.
- Your own bookkeeper
A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.
- On your books all year
Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.
- Cancel any time
No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.
Straight answers
Questions coffee roaster owners ask first.
Can Gus track how much coffee we actually get out of a green lot?
Yes. He tracks your roast yield against the green weight you bought, so cost per roasted pound reflects real shrinkage instead of a guess.
We roast for another brand under their label. How does that get booked?
As its own category, separate from sales under your own brand, so you can see how much of your revenue is really your own brand's growth.
Do we owe federal alcohol excise tax?
No. Coffee is not an alcohol product, so that tax never applies here.
Our wholesale accounts pay on net-30 terms. Can Gus track what is owed?
Yes. He keeps invoices and payments matched up, so you always know what a cafe account has paid and what is still outstanding.
We just bought a bigger roaster. Do we write it off this year?
Usually you can take most or all of it right away. Gus flags the purchase as equipment the day it posts, and the accountant weighs your whole year before deciding how it is written off.
Our books have never separated subscriptions from wholesale. Can Gus fix that?
Yes. Send the bank statements you have. Gus sorts them into wholesale, subscription, retail, and private label from here forward, and the accountant checks it.
Is a real accountant checking my books?
Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.
What does it cost, and can I cancel?
It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.
More in craft beverage producers
We keep books for the business next door too.
- Bottle shops & craft beer stores
- Cideries
- Craft distilleries
- Custom-crush & alternating proprietor wineries
- Homebrew & winemaking supply shops
- Kombucha brewers
- Meaderies
- Vineyards (grape growers)
- Brewpubs
- Craft breweries & taprooms
- Liquor stores
- Non-alcoholic beverage brands
- Wineries & tasting rooms
- Arcade bars (barcades)
- Artisan cheese makers
- Bagel shops
- BBQ sauce & rub brands
- Beer gardens
- Candy & chocolate makers
- Charcuterie board & grazing table businesses
- Cigar lounges
- Commissary & shared commercial kitchens
- Cottage food producers
- Custom cake studios
- Dive bars & neighborhood taverns
- Farmers market vendors
- Food hall vendors
- Fudge & candy shops
- Honey producers & apiaries
- Hookah lounges
What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for
Book a call
Pick a time. That's the whole signup.
Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.
- $197 a month to start
- An accountant on every transaction
- Cancel whenever